How open is our government?

It seems as if lately more and more questions keep surfacing in regards to how much information (and access to information) citizens of the United States are allowed when it comes to our government - all the way from the federal level to local municipal boards and panels.

Do you know what your rights are? Do you know what the laws say? Do you know what documents you can see? Do you know how to request documents? Do you know what meetings you should be allowed access to? Sunshine Week, which begins today, is a tool to help highlight the answers to those questions and more. The annual national initiative also seeks to focus on the importance of open government and freedom of information.

While we understand that for the average reader, this all may seem like insider journalism talk, it is actually a chance to share with the public what this newspaper (and others around the nation) do best - watch the government on your behalf.

Obviously, citizens can't be at every meeting (though they should be allowed) or take time to look over every budget (thought it should be easily accessed). So The Times makes it our job to do that and then report our findings fairly and in a concise form.

The sad part is that government doesn't always make things easy for us or anyone who wants to know what's happening. While we're not saying that all hitches are the result of some kind of official subterfuge (though that certainly can exist), most problems occur from an ignorance of the law or just plain shoddy record-keeping.

Our problem here in Louisiana is that we have broad public records laws that are burdened with exceptions and scattered cross-references. Also, according to the Public Affairs Research Council of Louisiana, the state offers no meaningful remedy to citizens who are denied information unless they pursue and fund their own legal action.

Simply put: Most folks just don't know what they are legally entitled to. And often those in charge of records themselves don't know what's public and what's not, which further clouds the matter.

And then there are the public meetings. While we do have broad access to public meetings in Louisiana, they are lacking on many fronts. For example, some groups will schedule meetings during working hours, which limits the ability of many citizens to attend. We are also behind the technology curve when it comes to meetings. For instance, there are a number of important meetings held in this state that are neither broadcast via the Internet nor archived in video format for future reference. These are easy fixes that could be made to better engage the public.

A quick summary, thanks to PAR:

Minimize and clarify exceptions to public records law;

Establish consistent, reasonable costs for public records (this is especially important in this day of electronic records);

Provide pre-trial mediation process for public records requests;

Expand online access to live and archived meetings;

Increase financial transparency.

Open government is often a messy creature, but it is the only way for citizens to have influence and hold elected officials accountable. Sunshine Week offers us an opportunity to shine more light on the situation so that we can all truly play a part.

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How open is our government?

It seems as if lately more and more questions keep surfacing in regards to how much information (and access to information) citizens of the United States are allowed when it comes to our government --

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